Blood Bugs
by Billie the fourth sage
Summary: Some bugs have found their way to America, the only solution found in a 19 year old boy and every being unknown in the BPRD records on the Philippine islands, including one fish-like empath who piques Abe's interest. Red/Liz,Abe/OC,hetero & slash themes
1. Buggy

My first Hellboy fanfic, hope you forgive the newb writing XD

Mostly movie-based. Hellboy and characters belong to Mike Mignola with shared story by Guillermo del Toro.

Characters that you haven't seen owned by either one of those guys belong to me 8D

* * *

No, this wasn't new.

The apartment building had been cut off from the hundreds of spectators, not one of which spotted the BPRD agents entering from directly below, from the underground conduits that once brought water into the unlit basement area.

"At least it wasn't the sewers this time." Liz reasoned, climbing the basement's wood stairs.

"Close enough. Ah crap." Red lifted his boot, finding black residue first sticking to the sole and tiny things clambering up his leg.

"Cockroaches. I really hate those little suckers."

"Come on, Red. Abe's already up on the third floor." Liz's voice echoed down the shaft.

"So, what've we got?"

"I don't.... Well, there doesn't seem to be anything here. The furniture is set up the way it was, and there are even uneaten biscuits over here." Abe answered. He sniffed one of the cups laid on the table. "Milk's still fresh. I don't exactly know-" "Um, Abe... You might wanna look up." Liz said quickly.

Hellboy entered the room just as the other two gaped at the ceiling.

"Oh."

Counting as many as they could in the scarce light, the three of them numbered about seventeen hanging from the ceiling. Seventeen bodies, maybe seventeen mishmashes of god-knows how many bodies, all strung up by shining silk. "Spider silk?"

"So what? We dealing with giant spiders or something?" Hellboy tapped one of the walls. "No, no, this is fine thread. Only.... there's a lot of it." Abe said sparingly. "Red, you might want to stand away from the walls."

Liz looked up to the bodies once more, backing towards Red as the three of them settled in the center of the room. Scurrying by the hundreds, a horde of black bodies began crawling down the walls and the hanging bodies, a lasting hiss echoing through the hallway.

A number of other BPRD agents entered the room in response, only to be caught in a veritable river of crawling arachnids.

"Little spiders. Huh. How many do you think, Abe?" Red wondered aloud, shooting at the black tide closing in on their position. "From where I'm standing, two thousand if we're lucky."

The three of them began shooting, as did a number of the agents. With each shot, more bore in from the walls, an endless wave of spiders, followed by a number of scuttling brown bodies from the floors.

"Shit!" Some of the agents standing at the doorway were engulfed by brown and black, the weight of the thousands of insects and arachnids bearing down on each human, soon exposing only an odd lump of shining, dark things.

"I don't think we're dealing with a thousand here, Red. I'm counting millions!" Liz said. She reloaded her gun for the fourth time, unable to stop the mass already latched onto her legs. "Step back, Abe!"

Fire erupted from Liz's body. The Icthyo Sapiens went for the doorway, able to assist the agents who, though twitching from the thousands keeping them anchored to the floor, were still alive.

The scores of swarms were engulfed in flames, the glasses on the table exploding, the room itself coming alight.

Red covered his face, but as soon as it was over, the few dozen bugs, still scurrying, were barely a threat now.

"Whoa."

Above, the hanging bodies were crackling, somehow still intact as they had been found, even with the fire. One of them dropped heavily onto the floor, the spider silk encasing it slowly melting down onto the charred floorboards.

Intestines scattered, blood and fluids spilling through the floor slits, one single body slipping out from what looked like the skin of a man and a woman, their arms and legs knotted together at the fingers and toes.

A tanned little body, long black hair soaked in clear fluids, naked but for a torn white cloth that might have once been a night dress, shook for a moment before gasping for breath.

"Oh my god.... Red, help me here!" Liz stooped over the body, the little girl barely half Hellboy's own height, turning the child over.

Dark eyes opened, caramel hands wiping blood away from her face, the girl cowered at the sight of the people before her. She was muttering something unintelligible, covering her face to protect herself.

"Shhh..... come on, it's okay. We won't hurt you." Liz embraced the tiny figure. Red stood at a distance, watching Liz drape her coat over the child, taking her up into her arms. The little girl wrapped her arms around Liz's neck, her large, dark eyes staring out at the large demon.

"Come on, kiddo." Hellboy reached out carefully with his left hand, his finger larger than three of the kid's. The girl reached out to touch the finger, her head settling quietly on Liz's shoulder as she smiled a tired smile.

It was a long night's wait for her, but at last, she was safe.

* * *

Review please. Thank you~


	2. Fishy

I was surprised at the reviews I got so early XD

Thank you for those who read my stuff and I hope you enjoy this.... longer chapter 8D

By the way, this is sorta kinda set after Hellboy 2, with the characters still in the BPRD. I'd say about 4 months for Liz, so she can still go on missions. A bit.

Ana belongs to me.

Others belong to Mignola. Movie belongs to del Toro.

By the way, Italics that you can't understand are Filipino. Italic bold in the middle of those words are their English translation. Just squint, you'll see it 8D

* * *

Abe was having trouble with the child.

She wasn't terribly mischievous, nor did she make any fuss as they clothed her and fed her. She spoke once or twice, a generic "Yes please" when they asked her if she would like some milk, or a "No thanks" when they offered her a number of desserts when she had finished with supper. Overall, she was very respectful.

Abe's only trouble stemmed from the fact that he could not read her. Even when she obediently put her hand to his as he attempted to gather what memory of the incident he could from her, for the first time, he pulled up a blank.

So here they were, going with the old-fashioned method of questioning.

Unfortunately, Manning considered this an opportunity to be useful.

"So, you're not from around here?"

"No sir."

"So where do you come from, then?"

"The Philippines, sir."

Manning wrote something down on his clipboard in a professional manner, oblivious to the girl rolling her eyes and making faces to match his.

Red, who stood beside Abe as the questioning went on, smiled. "I like this kid."

"Do you have any idea what happened in that apartment?"

"A mambabarang." The girl said simply. She reached for one of the sweets laid down for her on the table. "What exactly IS a- a- whatever you said?"

"A mam-ba-BA-rang. A bug witch. She does all these voodoo stuff with bugs." The girl explained, her hands gesturing widely the possibilities in bug voodoo. "Sapien, anything on that?" Manning rubbed his forehead wearily. "No sir, I'm afraid not. Ana told me this a little sooner and there was nothing in the records that I've checked, not one."

"Ana?"

"Yes, sir. Her name's Ana. Anunciacion Maria Anastacia Elena Lucia Gueverra."

Everyone stared at the Sapien for a moment before looking back at the girl. Ana, who had a lollipop now stuck in her mouth, smiled. "Well, since we obviously have no other leads besides this girl, we'll keep her under BPRD protection until we get SOMETHING. In the meantime, Sapien, you take care of the kid. I'll try contacting whatever agents we have assigned in the Philippines."

The meeting broke, and everyone left the library until only Abe and Ana were left, the little girl now poking through the shelves and picking titles off those she could reach. "Mister Abe, could you help me out with that one?" She asked, pointing to a blue book on one of the higher shelves. Abe looked to where she pointed, the Sapien still reading through the records in hopes of finding some clue to her statement about bug voodoo, but none of them seemed to match the incident as of yet.

His heart felt a small wrenching, though, when he saw that she'd chosen a familiar title, one that had been read by a certain Elvin princess not too long ago.

"What would you be so interested in Tennyson for?" Abe wondered, handing her the blue book. "It has a nice cover." The girl answered simply.

"Well you can't judge a book by its cover, now can you?" Abe said as she lugged her pile onto a table.

"Actually, you can. Just judge it a different way than all the others." Ana returned. "Is that so?" "Mmhmm. Like you. I heard someone calling you a little discon-whatwasit-disconcerting. Cuz of your face." Ana explained.

"Oh." Sapien frowned, wondering how many others were talking about him behind his back. "But I see the same face, and I think it's very nice. I like your color, and your eyes. You have nice eyes." Ana said, grinning. "See, people keep telling me not to judge a book by its cover. I say, judge the cover as much as you want, because a book can still be a book without it."

Abe stared in wonder at the sudden string of wise words from the child. He sat beside her after a moment.

Every now and then, she looked up from the book she was reading (Creatures of Buried Pasts in Celtic Tradition) to look at Abe. "I know you tried to read my mind before. But it didn't work." She said quietly. "In a way, yes, I tried to unlock that memory of yours from the incident at the apartment. But how did you know?" Abe asked.

"I have a friend who does the same thing. That friend taught me how to block telepathic signals. My lola, my grandma, told me it's something good to learn in case someone wants to take advantage of me." Ana explained.

"I'm sorry, but how old are you?"

"I'm twelve. A lot of people think I'm like, nine or something. Big Red back there guessed five. Now do I LOOK five to you?" She stood up and held out her arms presently, as if to emphasize her point.

Standing up, she was about four or so feet, her dark face round and her lips in a pout. Very kid-like. Abe would have guessed seven. "No, no. You'll have to forgive Red, we don't exactly see a lot of kids around, let alone kids like you." "Filipino kids, you mean." "Kids who fall out of spider-silk cocoons and don't look the least bit bothered about it, actually." Abe said. He wondered if he was too bold with that last statement, but Ana didn't even look the least bit affected.

"Fair enough. I hid in the cocoon by myself. I wasn't trapped like you think. I was waiting for her to come back, but she didn't." Ana said seriously.

"And it wasn't the.... well, you know. All the stuff in the cocoon, well, it didn't bother me. What bothered me was something else. Something else. That's why.... well..."

She trailed off, staring at her feet like they provided her some essential information. "If you.... well, if you'll let me try again, maybe I'll be able to help you out. I mean, that's why we're here. This is as much our problem as it is yours, and if you'll help us, we can be so much more useful." Abe said gently.

Ana sighed. "I don't mind. I wasn't all that sure before, but I know you're a nice guy, and Red and that Agent Sherman lady..." "Liz. I'm sure she won't mind you calling her that." Abe said, taking her hand.

"Here goes. I'll open my mind enough for you to get the memory, but it's a little hazy. You're gonna have to do the rest." Ana said, closing her eyes.

Abe pressed his hand against hers and watched as the scenery around him changed.

He was standing right outside the room in the apartment, seeing Ana, dressed in a nightgown, peeking through the doorway. There were a number of people, men and women, all dressed in fine clothing. They were all sitting around the table. None of them drank wine, only milk.

"I see. So our guest will be arriving shortly?"

"Indeed. He claimed to have the information which will lead us straight to the entire group. And the prince, he says, he will deliver himself."

"The prince? The empath prince? Isn't he the only one we needed?"

"Yes, but think of it. An ENTIRE clan of them, in our hands. We'd be rich! Well, richer."

The people laughed. Abe felt a pull as the Ana in the memory ran away from the door. Abe was no longer able to see the inside of the room, but he could see the hallway as the Ana in the memory hid in the broom closet. A man was climbing the stairs. This man wore a black suit, like a tuxedo, but the material was shining, like leather or spandex. The man's eyes were covered by sunglasses, and he constantly wiped his hands with a kerchief.

His face, though partially hidden by the sunglasses, looked almost inhuman. His face had a sheen like the clothes he worse, his lips slightly larger than usual but in such a way that only made him handsome, perhaps exotic. His sunglasses were large, almost concealing the fact that his forehead (his _frontal lobe_) was slightly large, and completely blocking any hint to his eyes.

The man, oblivious of Ana's presence, entered the room. Ana ran back to the door, and Abe could suddenly see once again the goings-on inside the sitting room.

The man was speaking in another language, but somehow Abe understood the words, processed in Ana's mind and thus understood by the Sapien himself.

"_Na**I**n**am**dito n**h**a**e** a**r**k**e**o. D**I**i**h**n**a**a**v**l**e**a k**br**o a**ou**ng**ght** i**the**mp**information**ormasyon. N**W**a**h**s**e**a**r**a**e**n a**is**ng a**m**k**y**ing b**pay**ay**ment**ad?" _

"My good man, we'll settle payment later. First, show us the information."

From what Abe could see, the man revealed to them something in a pack he carried, but with the man's back to the doorway, neither he nor the memory Ana could see exactly what it was.

The men and women, though, looked positively delighted to see it.

"Is that-"

Their words were cut off by the sound of the pack shutting. "My payment, please." Said the man, switching to fluent English.

"Of course, your payment."

A gunshot sounded. The man crumpled to the floor, his sunglasses falling. One of the men stood up and approached the body. What Abe saw next, though in only a second, struck him.

The man's eyes opened. They were dark orbs, like shining glass, large and very much like his own. Abe watched as the eyes clouded over, very literally clouded with black, and the man himself stood, grabbing the arm of the one who attempted to lift the pack from him.

"_A**Y**k**o**a**u**la n**tho**i**ught**yo kay**you**a n**cou**i**l**y**d**ong d**che**aya**at**in a**me**ko!?" _The man's words were screeching now, his neck opening in slits. _Like gills._

He, with sharp teeth that he exposed as his jaw rounded over, literally bit the other man's hand off. The others began shooting, nicking blue blood from the creature that now snarled at each one of them. The creature, still wearing the strange black suit, removed something from his pocket.

A small cocoon was resting in the hands of the creature, hands which had fingers now coming together like fins. He cracked it open, revealing a butterfly with blinking eyes on its wings.

As soon as the butterfly took wing, it began. Scuttling was heard from the walls as thousands upon thousands, hordes of spiders engulfed the people faster than they could shoot. Cockroaches, flies, mosquitoes, bees and wasps, unnameable insects of all kinds began methodically ripping the bodies apart. Ants removed each organ, butterflies siphoned the blood out of the bodies, the skin literally separate, almost whole, without the bones and innards to shape them.

Ana watched, frozen at the door. She moved only when the man-creature, the now fish-like, shadowing figure left the room, walking through the doorway as blood and water soaked into the hallway carpet.

Dark eyes shone when they spotted the girl.

Ana whimpered as claws grabbed her nightshirt and ripped the sleeves as he examined her face. Abe grabbed at the memory on impulse, but his hands only went through the two like mist.

"You." The voice was like nails on a chalkboard, but definitely speaking English this time. "You have protection. I cannot hurt you, then."

"Perhaps, though, she will find a way." He dropped her, part of the thin white fabric clinging to his hands as he moved on, walking down the stairs til his footsteps faded.

Abe was stunned. Even in the shadows, Abe could see that the other was a feral facsimile of the Icthyo Sapiens. He almost forgot to look back.

It was all he could do, though, when the memory of Ana ran into the room. The sea of insects seemed to part when she entered. She looked up at the cocoons and used one of the chairs to climb onto one. She slipped herself between two soft skins, holding her breath and trying not to guess what kind of innards were closing in around her.

It was then that, unseeing, Abe heard something. Breathing. Then a scream. In a haze, he found himself back at the library.

There, Liz and Hellboy were staring at the two, Liz laying her hand cautiously on Abe's shoulder.

"Abe? You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I just.... Hm..." Abe looked at Ana, her face betraying nothing of the memory. She nodded a small nod, watching as the agents followed Manning into the room.

"We apparently have only one BPRD agent in the Philippines. He was assigned there back in 1945, and no one bothered to check on his progress for the last.... thirty years. This is just great."

Manning looked up. "The three of you, pack up. You're leaving on the next plane to- When's the next plane?" He asked one of the agents next to him.

"Friday, sir."

"Next plane to the Philippines, Friday. You'll have to be subtle."

Red groaned. "Don't tell me, cargo?"

"Cargo."

* * *

Yeah, I'll have to bring Kraus in somewhere XD Maybe later.

Reviews make me write faster and about three pages more than I'd originally planned.


	3. Informingly

La la la.

This is actually a crossover with my webcomic entitled "Halimaw".

Hope you enjoy this chapter 8D

* * *

"I **hate** cargo."

"Red, it wasn't so-"

"I **hate** eighteen hours in the cargo."

"All right, so eighteen hours may have been a little rough, but-"

"Abe?"

"Yes, Red?"

"Shut up."

"Okay."

The BPRD agents arrived in the tropics, getting a private ride out of the NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) to a province just outside one of the main cities. Ana was looking out the window the entire way, naming landmarks to anyone who would listen. (Mainly Abe and Liz, and on one occasion, Hellboy, when she mentioned a beer canning factory on the expressway)

They stopped on the roadside discreetly, parked behind another, larger car, that looked as though it had been waiting for them.

Out of the driver seat stepped an old man, stick thin with a cap that had the BPRD symbol sewn onto it.

"Jones. Christensen. Stay in the other car." Hellboy ordered. The agents complied.

"You must be them agents. I'm Ray Alonzo. Welcome to the Philippines." He said brightly, saluting them with his hat.

"Mister Alonzo?"

"Call me Ray, missy."

"Well, sir, um, Ray, we were wondering about the whole incident with the bug voodoo. Well, here are the files. Abe?" Liz gestured to the Sapien. Abe handed the old man the files.

"Oh. Some mambabarang activity, eh? Well dang, oh- Ana! I don't believe I saw you there, kiddo! How've you been?" Ray waved to the little girl at the car window. "Hey, Ray!" She waved back.

"Well, sir, we need your help on that. See, we're investigating the deaths of seven businessmen and women, and this mambabarang was apparently the cause. Can you help us?" Liz asked.

Ray looked the files over for a few minutes. "Nope, I'm not the authority on this." He said.

"But aren't you the only BPRD agent here?"

"Yes. Assigned here years and years ago. But round here, that BPRD means bupkiss. Precisely zilch. The REAL authority, well, I've been on good terms with for a while. I can get ya connected." Ray informed them, taking an unbranded cigarette from his pocket.

"So get us connected. We didn't cross half the world to watch you smoke forest fags." Red said irritably. "Forest fags. Good one. These are herbs straight from the Kapre king. You know how old I am, sonny?" Ray asked lightly.

"If you think you can call me sonny, you must be pretty old." Red replied. "Well, I remember meeting Professor Bruttenholm a while back. He was a little older than twenty, if I remember. I was forty. then. The year was 1945." Said Ray.

The three agents looked at the man from head to toe. He looked no older than sixty years, but by now the man had to have been about a hundred. Ray blew a ring of smoke. "Kapres live for about five hundred years. Their smoking is a healthy mix of nutrients for the forest they live in. I met one back in 1978, when I helped Na out in one of their rampages. He gave me these wonder smokes, and I feel like I'm still in my prime."

"Not addicting, are they?" Red said dryly. "Well, I can stop whenever. But when you're needed, you're needed. Anyway, what would the BPRD do without me holding the fort back here?" Ray said. Ana laughed from the car.

"Well, come on into my vehicle, I can take you to the leading expert around here. Na."

"Na?" Abe intoned curiously. "Yes, Na. She's the lady who knows all. She's also Ana's grandmother. I'll take you to her. Hey kiddo!"

Ana jumped out of the car and jumped into Ray's. Abe shrugged, followed suit, and so did Liz. Red signaled the other agents and he himself got into the large vehicle.

After an hour's ride, they arrived at a village, driving straight past the houses to the forest. "Are you sure this is the right way?" Liz asked Ana. "Not too deep in. You'll see a house soon enough. My lola, my grandma, likes to stay in the middle." Ana explained.

"In the middle of what?" Red asked.

"Here and there. Oh, there's the house!" Ana pointed up ahead to a path that gave way to a house, somewhat old fashioned but in good shape, a three-floor that looked like it might have belonged to someone rich at the time.

As soon as they stepped out, they were attacked by silence. He, Abe and Liz followed Ana carefully as she made her way to the door. It was too quiet for a forest, for ANYWHERE. Not even the wind made a sound in the trees, when there should have been something.

Ana knocked on the door. "Lola, I'm home! I brought some guests!"

The first sound after was that of the door, opening to reveal an old lady, holding a shawl over her shoulders, graying hair tied back in a loose bun.

She looked like the sort that was once beautiful, her eyes still alarmingly deep under her wrinkles. The woman had a mole beneath her right eye, while Ana mirrored her with a mole under her left. They looked very similar, even for grandmother and granddaughter.

The old woman looked up. "Oh, guests then. Who's the big red one?" She asked cheerfully. Liz stepped forward. "Um, hello ma'am? My name is Elizabeth Sherman, this one over here is Abraham Sapien, and the big lug behind me is Hellboy. We wanted to ask you about.... well, we've been having trouble with some bug voodoo and if you could help us out..."

"Sounds interesting. Are you a government agency? That.... Bureau that Ray was always talking about?" The lady laughed.

"Well Na, after all these years, they actually bothered to check up on me." Ray called from the car. "Well then, you're all as welcome as he is. Come on in." The woman Na welcomed them. Red stooped into the door, relieved that the rest of the way had ceilings high enough for him to stand straight.

"So we've a fish man, a large red demon, and a fire-starter. Interesting crowd." Na said as she and Ray stood in the kitchen. "Hellboy is the concealed face of the BPRD. He's mainly the one who takes care of things. Abe Sapien is the brains of the operation, Elizabeth Sherman keeps things together. This is what I've gathered anyway." Ray said.

"They said something about the mambabarang effect on seven rich businesspeople. But it wasn't brought around by an old woman, but by what they described as a carnal fish-man. See this report?" Ray showed her the papers of the BPRD report.

Na read the file, her eyes narrowing. "It's not her. Or at least, not her intent. It was a gift."

"Far as I know, carnal fish thing might mean a siyokoy." Ray said thoughtfully. "Not might, it is. I just don't understand what-" Na stopped. She put down the files and picked up a plate of food. "We'll talk about this later."

In the living room, Abe was able to pick up some odd signals when he touched the objects displayed on the glass shelves. Liz was examining a photo with four men and a young woman. One of the men, she recognized as Ray. The man looked the same as always in the black and white photo.

The woman, sitting in front of all the men, dead center of the photo, was strikingly beautiful, with black hair tied by a ribbon, framing her heart-shaped face. Her lips were full, her eyes bright. With the flowers lain on her head, she looked like a forest princess.

"How embarrassing. I forgot to put that picture away." Said a voice from the kitchen. Na entered, carefully balancing a tray of what looked like rice cakes.

"This was you? You looked beautiful." Liz said in awe.

Ana followed Na to the table with a pitcher of water and a tray of glasses.

"That's flattering. Well, here are some treats for you three. Bico. Sweet rice cakes. You'll like them."

Na sat at the table. "And you wanted to ask me about that whole case?"

"Kind of what we're here for." Hellboy said, looking up at the rafters. He thought he saw something move. He put his hand on his gun's holster.

"Well, you're right, it was a mambabarang. A powerful one. It says in the report you also saw a.... fish-man?" Na said curiously.

"Abe saw it. Right Abe? From Ana's memory." Liz turned to the Sapien.

"Yes. He cracked open a cocoon, and a butterfly came out. That was when all the insects... well." Abe stopped. He touched the wall, sensing something.

"What color was the man?" Na asked.

"What? What... color?"

"Yes, the fish man you mentioned. What color?"

"Well... hm.... a sort of reddish violet hue." Abe said. The presence he felt from the walls disappeared all of a sudden.

"Hm. Reddish violet. No such thing." Na said quietly. "Perhaps it was a disguise even then."

"But.... how do you know about these beings? Are there more of them here?" Abe asked. "Abe-" Liz began, knowing where this was headed.

"Abe, move." Red said suddenly, his gaze straight up and his gun cocked. "Red, what are you doing?" Liz demanded.

The agents looked up. A large animal was pacing on the rafters. It barely resembled a kangaroo, but it was pacing on its four legs like a cat, its red eyes flashing, its large ears flapping like odd, round bat wings. Its back legs were large, doubled over with hocks and joints to keep them equal to the short forepaws. Its tail, swishing over it, looked powerful, like a whip.

Red whistled. "Here, kitty." He said quietly. The thing hissed, showing its large, sharp teeth. "Hope you're not planning to shoot that thing inside my house." Na said. Hellboy looked at the old lady and sighed, putting down his gun. "And you don't have to worry about Buni. She won't bite."

Na clicked her tongue. "Here, Buni." The large creature landed on the floor with a thud. It was about the size of a large dog, its tail doubling its length. Its small snout and large eyes made it look cute, if not for the fact it had been hissing at them a few moments ago.

"What is that thing?" Hellboy stepped back when it approached him. "Buni is a sigbin. A creature that feeds on raw meat and has a very powerful tail. Don't worry though, she's very faithful, and she won't hurt you if I tell her not to. Now Buni, these are our guests." Na said.

At once, the creature dropped its cautious gait and clambered over, sitting in front of Red as if waiting for something. Red put a hand on its head and pet it once, at which the 'sigbin', like a cat, rubbed up against Red affectionately.

"Oh look, Red, she likes you." Abe said cheerfully. Na went to the kitchen and returned with a raw piece of chicken, throwing it across the room. At once, Buni's powerful tail whipped the meat up and she caught it in her jaws.

"Nice, it can do tricks too. Any other cryptid being living in your house you forgot to tell us about? Maybe a vampire in your attic?" Red turned to the old woman.

"Living here, it's only Buni. A lot of the others like to drop by. This IS the forest after all. There's life everywhere." Na said mysteriously.

"And another thing; I might have been able to help had it been only the mambabarang. But after hearing about the entire story, I'd have to say that this isn't my area. Here." Na wrote something on a piece of paper. "There's a place. In the city. I've written the address and contacts here. My grandson Rio lives there. I cannot help you any more than I have already, but he should have all the answers. I'm sorry you had to waste your time here."

"No, it was great meeting you, Miss Na. Thank you for all your help. And the food. It's delicious." Liz said, laying her hand on Hellboy's. "Of course, I was happy to have you all here. Dear, don't strain yourself, by the way. You might be able to handle that much but we can't be sure about the babies." Na gestured to Liz's stomach. Liz smiled. "Don't worry. They've got their daddy to protect them." She said affectionately. Red smiled as well.

"I'm sure you'll do fine, then. Oh, and Abraham..." Na said. The Sapien stopped, looking at the woman intently. "There are more. Many more." She told him.

Those words echoed in the Sapien's head as they were driven into the city by Ray.

* * *

You just got a lesson in Filipino cryptid 8D

Review please.


	4. Newly

ToGellybelly: Yes, this is a slash fic 8D It'll be more obvious in the later chapters, but I'll just play with the characters for now.

Move along now.

* * *

Halimaw crossover.

* * *

"So, this place.... this.... shop?"

"It's selling crap."

"It's not crap, Red. These are artifacts. They've got a lot of years in them. You really have to appreciate the importance of stores like these that preserve the spirit of their culture."

The agents entered the antiques store without incident, the shop being quite out of the way, a place you wouldn't have found if you weren't looking for it.

Hellboy and Abe were quickly pushed into the shop as some children ran past. Liz was about to follow when she stopped to pick up a toy dropped by one of them.

A milk carton cut into the shape of an airplane, the toy was returned to thankful children. Their dark skin was caked with dirt, their clothes no more than ragged hand-me-downs, six sizes too big even to play in.

And yet, the children smiled at Liz. They exposed their yellowing, broken teeth, their faces so openly cheerful.

"You'd better get in there too, Miss Sherman." Ray said softly, egging the agent on.

The shop was much bigger than it looked on the outside. The counter was a few paces away from the first person they saw in there. A canvas was set up on an easel, a long-haired young male sketching intently. His red-toned hair was tied back with a bandanna, his face stained by the black mark of charcoal.

"S'Rio here, Mayon?" Ray asked. The reddish-brunette looked up at the inquiry, revealing dark eyes. As a Filipino, it might have been normal, but there was just something...

"Master's not gonna be back til tomorrow." Mayon answered, going back to his sketch. "Where exactly did your master go?" Hellboy questioned, looking down at the young artist. "Cebu." The man answered, looking up defiantly. "It's the meeting of the monarchs, the mahiwaga ambassadors."

"I was afraid of that. Hey, Mayon, know if our friends here have somewhere to stay til his return?" Ray asked placidly. Mayon turned his attention to the old man. "Out back. You can ask Mana; she stayed to guard the place til Rio comes back." He replied.

The group passed the artist, noticing the shape of a man with a horse's head, standing tall and proud like a soldier. They entered the back room.

"Stairs. Hellboy, mind if-?" Ray gestured to the rug. Red pulled it up and found the small hole through which he inserted one of his left fingers. With a heave, he pulled up a wooden door, revealing a stairway leading down into the darkness. "Only been here once. Better watch your step. Count seventy two steps." With those words, Ray descended, followed by Abe and Liz. Hellboy was the last to follow, using his tail to pull down the trap door.

They counted silently, one step after another, in the darkness. At seventy-two, they stopped on some solid ground. "Business?" A calm voice echoed through the dark cavern. "It's Ray, Mana. I've some agents over. Mamalarang, mambabarang, whatever you folks like to call it. All's I know is, it's bringing trouble to the big men in Washington."

"Agents? That BPRD you're always talking about, hey Ray? Well, I can see them fine from here. Seem like an interesting crowd."

"Interesting, but they've been waiting around awhile, I don't think you should try their patience."

"Fine. Move to your left, it's open."

In the utter darkness, it was difficult to see what exactly WAS open, and yet once they took a few steps, the black gave way to good lighting, as though they'd just gone through a shroud. No light escaped into the cavern, but all of it seemed present in the next room.

A wide area, similar about a quarter of the entire BPRD headquarters, opened before them. All in one room, there were tables and shelves filled with files, an area for food, pictures hanging on the wall.

At one of the tables sat a woman, her black hair seen over the chair's back. She was stooped over something on the table, looking hard at work. "Glad to see you again, Ray. It's been, what, four months?"

"Not too long. I saw Rio a month ago, but you weren't there. Mana, these are my friends, agents from the BPRD. Abraham Sapien, Liz Sherman, and the infamous Hellboy." Ray introduced. "It's like our own headquarters. Granted, it's a little smaller, but it feels quite familiar, doesn't it, Liz?" Abe said.

"Yeah. A lot like the old place, except with less people." Liz agreed. "And less locks." Added Red.

"We've got our own security measures." The girl spun in her chair, revealing a thin, white face, long black hair like silk draped over her shoulders. Her eyes were darker than black, much like Mayon's own eyes. And also-

Abe was the first to break the silence. "If you don't mind me asking....where are your legs?"

Mana reached over the back of her chair and raised her thin legs with one hand, legs that wore black jeans, limp in her arms as she pulled her legs, connected at the hip, to where her own upper body ended. "It all stays in there, don't worry." She said as she gestured to where her body ended, covered by her immaculate white T-shirt.

With a sickening pop, she propped herself up on her legs, walking casually towards them as what looked like veined, black wings folded into her back. "Welcome to the land of the Filipino freaks."

* * *

It was oddly cold where they all gathered. The boy shivered, pulling his coat close to his shivering frame. The others around him looked unaffected, other than the other three who, like him, were wrapped up tightly in their own warm raiments.

It was one of the cons of being a mahiwaga monarch. Always cold. Rio grit his teeth wearily. He caught Marikit's eye; Apoy kept her close, the fire spirit providing the princess warmth. They all gathered around a pit. Rio brought his hand to his mouth, blowing through his fist like a horn. The wind brought about a gale line that went straight into the darkness.

Mari, 'Marikit', holding Apoy's hand, waved her other arm and willed a wild flame down into the depths, even that disappearing into the darkness of the pit.

Ku, 'Makusog', picked up a stone, the size of his hand, and crushed it between his strong, dark fingers. The dust fell into the pit in a smooth arc, riding on the wind.

And finally, it was Tina, Muntina, who brought about water by her own hand, leading it down to the depths.

They stepped away from the opening as the last of the elements caused the explosion of light. Siglo covered Rio protectively, the winds still blowing from the pit's mouth.

It was in a shower of wonder that **he** appeared.

And they began the meeting.

* * *

"Here are some rooms for you to sleep in. We've a computer you can contact your bosses from, but don't expect anything as gratuitously expensive as the ones you have back in the States. We run on simplicity." Mana showed them the adjacent hall, leading them to each room. "You, we have a special area for, Mr. Sapien." Mana said kindly, leading him to another hall.

Liz and Red followed, arriving at a room, almost entirely taken by the surface of an Olympic sized pool. What 'ground' there was to walk on was made up of dark glass, revealing the floors below them, at each level of the pool.

"You guys sure like to swim, huh?" Liz said, walking around the water.

"It's a necessary action for some of our house mates." Mana sat at the edge of the pool, leaning over the hazy water. "Maliksi! Li! We have guests. Come out, fish stick!"

They watched carefully, seeing a shape deep under move up smoothly through the water.

When the surface broke, a face inches from Mana's hissed loudly, a feral challenge of a greeting, met with Mana herself hissing back, exposing a carnivore's teeth, her eyes clouding over entirely black.

Hellboy pulled out his gun and shot at the place closest to the creature's head, making a black dent in the metal which held some part of the floor together.

"Putang- What the hell-"

"Red!"

The creature that had come out of the water dove back in. "Li, don't! It's okay!" Mana called. She glared at Hellboy. "What? It was-" "That's Maliksi's greeting. Geez, I thought you'd be smarter than that."

"I didn't hit the damn thing. Cut me some slack."

"You're an ass. That's the best slack I can cut." Came a new voice.

From the water, the creature had emerged again. This time, they had a clearer view of the face, shock slowly emulating in the agents' features. The top of the head, then the entire face came into view.

Large eyes, swirling with dark color, watched them carefully. The creature's skin was a pinkish hue, like a seashell, in varying sheens. Gills opened at its neck, dark lips opened to say something, but closed once more.

The most shocking thing for the agents, though, was the uncanny resemblance of this creature to their own Sapien.

"Why did you shoot at me?" The voice from the creature resonated, a calm mid-tone. "You surprised us." Liz responded quickly. "And we're sorry."

"Yeah, sorry." Hellboy muttered.

"Thank you for apologizing, but I still think you're an ass." Once more, the creature dived. Mana got up. "That's Maliksi for you. Don't mind, or at least try to tolerate the kid, Abe, since you'll be staying here for the night."

"Hm..." Was all Abe replied, still staring intently at the ripples on the water's surface.

"What- what is Maliksi, exactly?" He asked as Mana ushered Red and Liz to the next rooms.

"A fish being. Little brat was only born twenty four summers ago, which in Mahiwaga years, is still grounds for calling the kid, well, a kid."

"I heard that, old hag!"

"I hope so, little bitch!"

Abe jumped when he saw Maliksi half out of the water, arms folded on the edge. "Well, aren't you going to sleep? It's late." The being said mildly, oddly contrasting from the loud 'brat' from only a few moments ago.

"Yes, thank you. I'll just remove my, well..." Abe gestured to his breathing apparatus, at which the younger one nodded, sinking into the water slowly.

Abe stared at the water in wonder. She looked so like him it was frightening, and yet she was so different. It was refreshing, if not odd.

What he didn't notice was another pair of eyes watching through the glass.

* * *

Reviews are one of only two reasons I write.


	5. Offendingly

I feel like I'm making my characters too Sue-y for my tastes xP

I'll fix that next time.

Hellboy belongs to Mike Mignola. Movieverse belongs to Guillermo del Toro.

Others belong to me.

* * *

When Abe woke in the morning, he saw more than one being swimming circles in the pool. Maliksi was, with astounding speed, pushing off from each side of the pool and moving along the edge, in a strange dance with another being mirroring the movements.

This one, though, was not like Li. This one was, or at least looked like, a mermaid, a sea-siren.

With one gigantic fish tail, she propelled herself in a similar manner, chasing Maliksi's path as her long, luminescent hair trailing behind her. When Maliksi stopped, upon catching Abe's awakening, the mermaid did as well.

"Good morning." Said the former. The latter bubbled shyly, then also greeted Abe with a wave.

"Good morning, Maliksi. Urm..."

"This is Relena. Call her Len. She can't speak English, I'm afraid." Li explained, leading the mermaid over. From up close, Abe realized how young Len looked. "She's only twelve years old. Practically a baby. She was there last night, but she was too shy to greet you. _Diba, bulilit?_" Li teased, earning a small giggle from the little one.

Maliksi said something to the girl, and the young one swam closer to Abe, holding up a hand uncertainly. Abe put his own hand up to hers and listened as her thoughts came in awkward fragments, indeed like a shy child even in her own mind.

_I think you are nice. Very nice, um, and meeting you kind- I mean, it is nice to meet someone kind like you. You remind me a little of Maliksi. _The little girl spared a glance at an unknowing Li. _But quieter and different, a little. Do you know Maliksi can do the same as you? I mean- _

Len removed her hand from Abe's and pointed, gesturing to his palms and to her head.

"Relena?"

The three in the pool looked up as a shadow loomed over the water's surface.

Len bobbed up above the water, watched carefully by Maliksi and the Sapien.

"Alis na tayo." _It's time to go. _

The one Abe recognized as Mayon rolled in a tank.

Carefully, the little mermaid was transferred to the tank and rolled away in the next fifteen minutes. Abe himself got out of the water and watched her go. Li stayed in the water, staring intently at the wall.

"Maliksi, Relena said you were like me." Abe said, not knowing how else to bring up the subject. "Well of course. You resemble our kind closely-" "No, I mean, she said you are... psychic."

Maliksi turned away, staring patiently at the water until every ripple faded. Abe remained silent, not pressing the issue, no matter how much he wanted to.

"Oh. Yeah." Li finally said, breaking the silence. "Is it something the rest of your... people can do? Tell me, Li, is it-" "No, just me. 'sus, Abe, you think psychics grow on trees?" Said the being irritably.

"I just... didn't think it would be possible to meet someone like me." Abe said. Li looked at him, expression unreadable. "I'm not like you, Abe." Was the cold response.

Abe, realizing the impatience that grew in him since Maliksi's vague responses, approached the other being and lay a hand on Li's. The effect was instantaneous. A shock propelled him backwards, his frontal lobe suddenly attacked by pain. Li seemed to be affected the same way; eyes screwed shut, the being screeched inhumanly and sank into the water.

"Abe?!"

Abe's eyesight, blurred from the encounter, finally made out Liz as she ran toward him, a worried look on her face.

"You shouldn't have done that." Li hissed, surfacing once more. "Don't ever fucking do that again."

"What happened?" Liz demanded.

"Psychic counteraction." Li explained, looking as though willing to be calm. "I **don't **like being read." The being added.

"I.... apologize. I didn't think—" Abe broke off, looking down at his own hands. Liz frowned, remembering what happened the last time Abe had met an empath.

"I'm sorry, Abe. I—you caught me by surprise." Said Maliksi levelly. "Just be careful. I don't want anything bad to happen again. I've caused enough trouble for the Master already."

Abe was unsure whether or not Li was really all right with the arrangement, but it was Maliksi who allowed them to touch palms, sending memories into Abe's mind like pouring rain.

_A clan of them gathered around the young one. It could, they found, read them. This was unusual among them; only the sirena had that power, and the siyokoy could not have dreamed the idea to any extent. _

"_We shall send the child to the monarchs." Said their king. _

_There was a time of hardship, but Maliksi had only heard. The child was kept underground. Trapped. This had gone on for ten years. Not knowing. Never seeing. _

_It was Lani who kept Maliksi company. The fire spirit and her cheer kept Maliksi lucid enough as the powers grew. It was painful one year, and well-balanced the next. _

_Lani was there, so it was all right. _

"_Lani is dead. Siglo killed her." Mana informed. _

_That was all. The manananggal didn't have much to say. _

_Lucidity was more difficult to maintain as loneliness set in. Maliksi felt like a ghost; no one ever came to visit, or talk to the child, but Li heard every thought echoing above the chamber. Holding webbed hands up to the ceiling, Maliksi could make out the trivial thoughts of humans, the deeper warnings of the mahiwaga, and everything in between. _

_Sometimes, Li would wonder how clouds looked like. _

_Mana returned one day, different. The manananggal brought the siyokoy food everyday, but never spoke. _

_For about a week, Mana disappeared. When she returned, Li read her easily, finding out everything that had happened. _

_A new master, the time of hardship over, the conversion of Siglo, (this one never really convinced Li) Mana's renewed spirit. It was odd. Different. _

_Mana talked, apologized, and talked some more. She was laughing, sincerely interested, talking to Li as though they'd always done just that. _

_It was easier to accomplish recovery at this point; Maliksi had freedom. _

_The child was returned to the clan, power stronger than before. Maliksi stayed with them for three years before being returned to the underground, to serve the Master. _

_On the same day, Matapang of the siyokoy clan disappeared. Maliksi was never trusted again. Losing the most powerful warrior the same day his alleged lover detached from the clan was something they could never reconcile with Maliksi. _

_Siyokoy activity, Mana said. Maliksi suspected as much. It had to be him; it couldn't have been anyone else. _

"_Ray called in advance. They're sending agents from America to investigate. It's really that bad, Li. Is there anything you can tell us that could possibly fix this mess?" _

_Perhaps Maliksi could have told them it was—could only be Matapang. Of course, any of the other clans could have consigned themselves to Manang's service, but this one was red-skinned. An outlaw; an abandoner to the clan. It was almost sure. _

_But still, Maliksi said nothing. _

"Blue! Liz!"

The two turned to see Hellboy standing at the entrance hallway. Maliksi sank back into the water, still unwilling to talk to Red after the 'incident'.

"Ray said their 'master' should be getting around in just a bit. If anyone can answer our questions, it should be him." He informed them.

_Some questions already have been answered, _Abe thought.

_And some answers just give rise to more questions. _

* * *

R&R


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